The Forgotten Fairy
by ShannonEsmerelda1
Summary: Mai isn't really who she says she is; she's a mage from the Fairy Tale guild! How will SPR, mainly our favorite narcissist, react to the news? MaixNaru DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN GHOST HUNT OR FAIRY TALE AN: I would really appreciate if I got some reviews for this, as I'm a little nervous about writing this...thanks! Flames are accepted and taken in stride if you don't like it.
1. Chapter 1- Intro

Chapter 1

Hey there everybody! My name is Mai Taniyama, and I'm a ghost hunter. Yeah, I know, that sounds crazy, but that's my job. I've got some...unique co-workers. I'm just an assistant, but at least I'm involved; it's a really awesome line of work.

There's Lin Koujo, an omnyouji. An omnyouji is someone with paranormal abilities such as exorcising spirits (he can only do that if he knows the spirits name) to summoning spirits called shiki. He's not what you would call talkative; in fact he prides himself on not uttering a single word.

Then there's John Brown, he's an Australian Priest! He's nineteen, and he's a real sweet-heart. He's like the older brother I never had. He comes with us for most of our cases if he's available, so I guess he's a regular part of the team.

Next on my list of crazy co-workers is Masako Hara, a teenage television star/ medium. She's sort of an introvert as far as I can tell, but I don't mind her. She's got a lot on her plate what with sensing spirits all of the time.

Bou-San, aka Hosho Takigawa, is a monk. He helps with exorcisms and things of that nature, much like John does (except he doesn't use holy water or things from the bible). He and I have an odd relationship; he treats me like his adopted daughter and I laugh when Ayako hits him over the head with her purse for it.

Ayako is a priestess, although we're not entirely sure how all that works for her. Regardless, she is really insightful on cases and she's always been really kind to me, and for that I'm grateful.

Next Is Yasu, a regular teenager like me. He doesn't have any powers, but he's always really helpful when it comes to research. He calls me boss, no matter how many times I tell him not to, and he always "confesses his love" to Bou-San. I'm pretty sure he's kidding, but I could be wrong...

And last, but certainly not least with that big ego of his, is Kazuya Shibuya, or Naru the Narcissist as I like to call him. He's my entirely all too arrogant, tea-addict, holier-than-thou boss. He always demands his tea at least ten times a day, and he prefers Earl Grey with two sugars. I only know this because somehow I ended up being his tea-slave. He drives me up a wall, and no matter what I do I can't seem to change one simple fact. I'm undeniably, and irrevocably in love with him, and he thinks I love his twin brother.

Right then, you know about my job, so let me tell you about me now. I live in a tiny, one-bedroom apartment about two blocks from where I work, all by myself. I've been living on my own since I was 11, and everyone thinks it's because I'm an orphan... that's only part of the reason.

I've actually got a really big family, my nakama. But they happen to live in another world called Earthland. I know, that sounds crazier than my job, but it's the truth. I come from Earthland, and my nakama lives in the beautiful town of Magnolia, in the guild called Fairy Tale.

You see, where I come from, magic is a beautiful everyday thing. It's apart of everyones lives, some more than others. The people who are "more than others" are wizards and mages, and they join guilds to make magic an official part of their lives. There are take-over mmages, who's body transforms, or maker mages, who use elements as their magic.

Then there's me. I'm a mage with two types of magic. I use celestial magic, which lets me call spirits from another world to help me. I have to have that spirits keys to call them though. So far I've got twelve keys, four gold and eight silver. My other form of magic is travel magic, which allows me to open up portals between worlds.

I was immediately deamed an S-class mage, a more powerful mage, when I entered the guild. I was sent on a decade quest on my ninth birthday ten years ago.

Here's my porblem: I have two choices. I can either stay here and leave my old nakama behind, or I can go back and bring my new nakama with me.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Mai! Tea!" I heard my stupid attractive boss yell from his office. I was sitting at my desk, staring at my locket that I always kept tucked into my shirt. Inside of it was a folded up photo of my friends from Fairy Tale ten years ago.

I sighed and stood up, my face drooping as I made him his stupid tea. _How am I supposed to tell him? Of all people? He'll think I'm insane!_ I thought as I added two sugar cubes to his tea and placed it on the tray.

I walked slowly to his office, opening the door without bothering to knock and walked in. I placed the tray on his desk and poured some tea into the cup quietly, not even bothering to yell at him about how demanding he was. I wasn't in the mood to; actually I was in the mood to cry and jump for joy at the same time.

I wanted to cry because I didn't want to leave, but I wanted to smile because I would finally be going home. I would be leaving tomorrow.

I hadn't realized that Naru was giving me an odd look as I walked out of the office and shut the door behind me quietly, going back to sitting at my desk and doing the filing for the last case we had taken.

I also hadn't realized it when John, Ayako, Masako, Yasu, and Bou-San walked in and greeted me. I just sat there quietly and kept filing, not noticing the weird looks I got as a few small tears leaked from my eyes as I looked over the papers. I hadn't even noticed when Lin walked out and gave me a look, one he rarely ever gave anyone; worry.

I just kept filing quietly, being completely-not-myself. It was a little while later when I heard Naru again. "Mai, tea." I heard him call and stood up with a sigh, wiping a stray tear from my cheeks.

I looked over to the sitting room and was shocked to see them all sitting there, Naru standing in the doorway of his office with his face blank.

"Oh hey guys...when did you get here?" I asked, my voice cracking slightly.

"About an hour ago...we said hi." Bou-san said, casting a worried glance at Ayako.

"Mai...are you feeling alright?" Ayako asked me, looking at me with a worried expression.

"Yeah...it's nothing really." I said, placing a fake smile on my face as I went to get the tea pot from Naru's office. I was stopped however when I heard the tinkling of the bells above the office door.

It normmally wouldn't have confused me, except for the fact we had the closed sign above the door and all the regulars were already here. I turned around and nearly fainted when I saw the people in front of me.

In front of me was a pink haired idiot who went by the name of Natsu Dragneel and his blue cat Happy.

"Natsu?!" I shouted/ questioned confused. _What the hell is he doing here? How is he here? _I thought to myself as he gave his usual cheeky grin and thumbs up.

"Hey there loser!" he exclaimed while Yasu looked at me.

"Mai, you know him?" he asked and I nodded, tears spilling out of my eyes as I covered my mouth to keep the sobs from escaping. I felt a hand on my shoulder; Naru.

I looked up to him to see him looking at me with a suprising amount of confusion on his face. "Mai...who is that?" he asked me.

I cleared my throat as I turned back to the idiot in front of me. "My nakama." I said quietly before rushing foward and tackling the pink haired moron to the ground in a hug. I felt him wrap his arms around me happily as I sobbed, tears staining his signature scarf as they escaped my body.

"Hey there stupid-head, no need to cry. I mean I know I'm lame but it isn't that upsetting." he said, obviously trying to cheer me up.

I pulled back when I felt the confused looks of everyone else boring into my back. I turned to look at them and cleared my throat, wiping away the tears as a smile was practically glued to my face.

"Everyone, this is Natsu Dragneel, and his adorable cat Happy." I said as the blue cat jummped off Natsu and waved to the group. They gave the cat an incredulous look at he waved, not expecting that at all. "I haven't seen them in ten years, but still...they're my family." I said as Bou- San came and stood in front of Natsu.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Takigawa Hosho." he said and Naru shook his hand. And with that everyone introduced themselves and I knew it was time. I had to tell them the truth.

Naru went and sat behind my desk, playing with the locket he had somehow slipped off of me when I wasn't paying attention. I rolled my eyes and turned back to the group who'd started to connverse amongst themselves.

"Alright...I need to tell you guys something." I said, my voice cracking as the worry hit me again. Naru looked at me with an unreadable expression as the others waited for me to start talking. "I'm not from Japan..." I said, waiting for the explossion.

"What?!" I heard Yasu yell first, his eyes as wide as saucers as I flinched at the volume of his voice.

"I come from a world called Earthland...a town by the name of Magnolia to be exact..." I said, watching their faces. They didn't believe me, and Naru looked like he was about to call the hospital to have me admitted.

"Mai...that's crazy talk." Ayako said, and I shook my head.

"You guys hunt ghosts, and you really think I'm crazy?" I asked, my temper peaking out slightly and I felt something hit the back of my head. I looked at Natsu and saw him smiling cheekily at me.

"Watch that fuze of yours, no need to set on fire." he said and I rolled my eyes before turning back to the group in front of me, when an idea occured to me.

"Hey Natsu?" I asked, giving him the sweetest smile I could muster, and he raised an eyebrow confused. "Wanna give them a little...demonstration?" I asked and he gave me a cheeky grin.

He stood over and walked up next to me, and I smirked, thinking about the looks that would be on my friends faces after this. I had taken a trip into lala land, so imagine mmy suprise when I felt a burn on my arm.

"Ow! You stupid ass I didn't mean on me!" I screamed as my hand flew to my arm, my teeth clenching from the pain of it. I heard Naru move over to mme worried and pull my hand from my arm. "Believe me now?" I asked through clenched teeth.

He nodded. "I suppose." he said and I heard the door tinkling again. I sighed and turned, only to blush brightly as I was met with a shirtless Gray Fullbuster.

"Gray! Just the man I needed!" I shouted with glee and gestured to my arm. He rolled his eyes and walked over. "Also! Clothes!" I said and he looked at himself.

"When did that happen?!" He shouted confused, causing Natsu and Happy to snicker. He sighed and walked over to me. "Ice Make: bandage!" he said and then there was an ice cast around the burn, causing me to sigh in relief.

"Thanks." I said and hugged him, even if he was shirtless.

"Yeah yeah yeah." he said and I pulled away. I turned back to my new family.

"The world I come from is made of magic. The things Natsu and Gray just did were a part of my daily life before I came here..." I said and then bit my lip.

"Just spit it out." Naru said rolling his eyes, but I could see the curiousity boiling inside them.

"I have to go back to my world tomorrow." I said, looking at the ground sadly and then was grabbed into a hug by Bou-san.

"No! They can't take our Mai away! I love you even if you're an alien!" he shouted dramatically and I heard the tell-tale sound of Ayako's purse smack against his head.

"Baka! Of course we all still love her!" she said, pulling back to the couch.

"I can't stay here any longer...my ten years is up." I said, feeling my nerves peak again as I asked the question that had been in my mind since Naru came back from England. "Do you guys want to come with me?" I asked, and the question hung in the air as I felt myself hold my breath.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I felt arms wrap around me and opened the eyes I hadn't realized I'd closed to find Ayako hugging me tightly. "I'd love to meet your family Mai..." She said and I smiled brightly.

"Really?" I whispered, like if I spoke too loud she'd change her mind. She nodded, and I felt like my face would break in half from the smile I was sporting. I tackled her in a hug and heard her chuckle as she patted my back.

"Feild trip!" Yasu shouted excitedly, causing me to giggle lightly as he fist pumped.\

"I have the ability to send you guys back and forth between the worlds instantly. I suppose it is a little bit of a field trip." I said smiling.

"I got nothing better to do, so I may as well." I heard Naru say and looked up at him happily, knowing he had agreed to go in his own way.

After that it seemed like everyone was going. I was practically jumping for joy. "Great!" I shouted excitedly. "I'm just going to go home and pack up my apartment. I'll meet you guys here in an hour?" I asked and got nods from the group.

I looked up at Naru and blushed lightly; he was still staring at me. "Let's go then loser!" Natsu yelled and tossed me over his shoulder before exiting the office, causing me to growl annoyed as Gray and Happy followed after us.

We eventually made it to my tiny appartment after a lot of fighting between me and Natsu or Natus and Gray. I sighed as we walked in and went into my room, them following after me as Happy flopped onto my bed.

"So when are you going to tell him?" Natsu asked, and I looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Tell who what?" I asked him, and he gave me his signature cheeky grin.

"Tell your boss you love him." he said and I flinched.

"I already have..." I muttered, pulling out my duffel and started to put my things in it. _He doesn't love me though... and he thinks I'm using him to replace his dead brother._ I thought sadly as I stufffed things into the bag.

The room was silent for a minute before Gray spoke up, distracting me from the previous conversation. "You know...almost no one in the guild will recognize you if you show up dressed like that." he said, pointing to the pink shirt and black frilly skirt I was wearing.

I nodded; I'd changed my look completely when I came here. I grabbed a set of clothes from mmy bag and went to change. I put on a black tube top the stopped just above my ribcage, showing off my black guild mark that was covering my lower back. I put on a pair of black shorts and biker boots, sliding a red leather jacket on over my shirt and going back into the other room, tossing the offending clothes into the trash.

"Better?" I asked him sarcastically and got a nod in response.

I quickly finished packing my small amount of items and we trecked back to the office, Natsu carrying my bag while Happy sat on my head. "Do they miss me?" I asked Natsu as we climbed the steps.

"More than you'd think. Even Laxus misses you." he said and I smirked. The lightning dragon slayer and I had always been on good terms, depsite what everyone else in the guild had thought.

I nodded at what he said as we walked into the office. Everyone was standing there with a bag like mine, ready to go. I saw Naru's eyes widen a fraction as he saw what I was wearing and smirking mentally, while keeping my signature smile on my face.

"Nice outfit change Mai." Ayako said chuckling and I smiled.

"Ready to go?" I asked, pushing the nerves I felt bubbling up again. After recieving nods from everyone I closed my eyes, concentrating on making a door to Earthland. I walked over to the wall, keeping my eyes closed and touched it. When I opened mmy eyes there was an ancient wooden door on the wall.

"Wow..." I heard, and looked behind me shocked to see it was Lin who had spoken. I smiled brightly at him.

"Travel magic, one of the two magic's I use." I said smiling and then turned to Natus. "That reminds me! Keys!?" I asked and held my hand out to him. He pulled my keys from his pocket, along with the holder for them and I clipped it onto mmy shorts.

"What're those?" I heard Naru asked and looked up at him.

"I'll explain later, the door won't last very long without draining my power." I said and turned to the door, pushing it open and smiling as I walked through it confidently.


	4. Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

I smiled happily as I stepped out onto the cobblestone streets of Magnolia, the bright sun shining in my face. "I'm home." I said smiling as I spun in a circle excitedly, my head thrown back to take in the day.

I heard a chuckle from behind me and saw that everyone was now through the doorway, taking in the scenery around them in amazement. Natsu and Gray were smiling at me, amusement on their faces as they gestured to the dumbstruck members of SPR; well, almost all of them were dumbstruck. The only ones who'd managed to keep their expressions intact were Lin and Naru.

"I didn't think it would actually work..." Bou-san said quietly as he looked around. "But...this place is beautiful." He said and looked at me smiling.

"I know...I've missed it." I said smiling to him and then Happy started to jump up and down on my shoulder.

"Let's go to your house Mai-chan!" He said in his cute voice atop my head. I smiled and rolled my eyes at him.

"You two haven't wrecked it while I've been gone have you? I know I paid the rent in full for twelve years, so it should still be there." I said, meaning Natsu better not have burnt it to the ground.

"It's in tip top shape! Mira goes and cleans it once a month so it wouldn't be dusty when you came home." Natsu said smiling, and I nodded.

I turned back to the gang and smiled. "Come on! You guys can stay at my place while you're here considering we have a different currency than you do." I said and they nodded, still taking in the surroundings in awe. I giggled lightly and began walking the familiar route to my home.

I heard Ayako and Monk arguing behind me and rolled my eyes. _Some things never change, and I'm happy for that._ I thought to myself as we walked. I heard Naru talking in hushed tones to Lin about how odd this place was. _It's not that different here. The sun shines and the moon rises and the tides shift and life happens. I mean sure we have magic and a different currency and sure we might be a little crazy but-_ My thought process was cut off when I walked face first into my front gate, having completely zoned out.

I heard loud laughing behind me and turned to glare at Yasu, Bou-san, and Natsu as they were bowled over with laughter. "It isn't funny!" I shouted annoyed, and heard a tiny sniff of laughter come from- of all people- Naru. I glared at him and turned back to my home.

I pulled the key out of y pocket and unlocked the gate, a smile on my face as I took in the house. It was a three story home that wasn't very wide, just tall. It had potted plants out of nearly all the windows and was painted a light blue, with a rooftop garden that I figured Mira had taken car of for me.

I walked up to the front door happily, with Happy humming from his perch on my head. "It's quite pretty." I heard from behind me and turned my head to grin at Masako.

"Thanks! It's a steal too! Only 100,000 jewels a month." I said smiling.

"Jewels?" Lin asked, and I managed to contain my shock at the stoic man actually speaking.

"Oh right. Umm jewels is our currency. I suppose it's 100 Jewels for every yen." I said and shrugged while they nodded. _They sure are being quite..._ I thought to myself as I unlocked the door. "Welcome to my home." I said smiling as I walked in, putting my shoes at the front door.

They all followed my example and began exploring the house. I giggled as I watch Yasu try and play with my communication lacrima, only to screech when it spoke to him. Naru and Lin had moved to the living room and were looking over my extensive library that I had built up when I came back to visit every year.

"So...you live here?" Ayako asked and I nodded. "With who?" She asked me and I shrugged.

"Usually when I lived here it was just me, considering I was old enough to go on missions I paid for it myself. Sometimes Natsu and Happy sleep over, or my friend Erza when she isn't on missions. She almost always is though." I said with a sigh, missing my red headed friend.

"How old were you when you started going on missions?" Yasu asked curiously as he walked into the room.

I put a finger to my chin as I thought. "I think my first one was when I was seven or eight. I left for the decade quest to your world on my nineth birthday." I said and saw them all gape at me.

"Were the missions you went on dangerous?" John asked worried, and I smiled. He really was a sweetie.

"Well, there was one time when I had to take down a dozen Vulcans on my own, but that was easy. The hardest one I've ever had to go on was the decade quest I suppose." I said, thinking to myself. _I didn't go on many quests before I was deemed an S-Class mage in the tournament, and then there wasn't much time after that before I left._ I thought to myself, remembering the S-class tournament fondly.

"-ai. Mai!" I heard Naru call my name and looked at him blushing. He must've been calling my name for quite some time.

"Oh uh yeah?" I asked confused while he smirked.

"I asked where we would all be sleeping, which you would've known if you weren't busy in space." He said, and I felt my face heat up as I clenched my fists.

"Shut up you egotistical narcissist!" I said and stood up. "Follow me." I grumbled and they all followed me to the third floor, save Gray and Natsu (they'd dissapeared to Mavis knows where).

I pointed to a black door. "That's my room. Stay out." I said and then pointed to the six white doors down the hall, wiggling my feet against the dark blue carpet. "Pick any of those rooms, I'm going to unpack." I said and walked into my room, shutting the door behind me as I heard Monk and Ayako begin to argue over who got which room.

I sighed, feeling my face finally cool off after that jerk embarrassed me.

_**You know he's the jerk you** **love.**_A voice in my head said.

_Gene?_ I thought to myself, confused. _Didn't you pass on?_

_**Yeah about that...I can't until you've mastered the whole **_**_psychic_ _thing..._**he answered and I sighed.

_How're you even in my thoughts? I'm not even on Earth!_ I thought exasperated as I put my duffel on my bed and began to unpack.

_**No clue. Gotta go for now. Oh! And call him "idiot scientist"! I dare**_** _you!_**I sighed as I felt him leave. There was no getting out of dares from Gene.

I finished unpacking quickly and went into the bathroom to take a bathe, feeling slightly sore as I climbed into the hot water.

I don't know how long I was in the tub but when I opened my eyes I let out a shrill scream. Natsu was in the tub.

"Get out get out get out! Pervert!" I screamed and jumped out, wrapping one of the blue fluffy towels around my body just in time for the door to be kicked open by Naru.

I blushed a deep red as I saw him take in my appearance before he turned and saw Natsu in the tub, his glare hardening. Natsu just gave his same cheesy grin, like there was _nothing_ wrong with him climbing into my tub while I was still in it.

I fumed angrily as I stomped downstairs into my kitchen, not caring about the fact my hair was dripping water as I went. "Stupid pervert! Climbing into my freakin' tub." I grumbled to myself as I searched for something to snack on.

The cabinets were stocked as well as the fridge. _I'll have to thank Mira later and pay her back. _I thought to myself as I pulled an apple from the fridge, running my other hand through my wet hair.

"You'll catch a cold walking around like that." Naru said behind me, causing my heart to practically give out.

"Don't scare me like that!" I said annoyed.

"Don't space out and you won't freak out whenever I walk into the room." he shot back at me and I huffed, turning back to the fridge to grab a water.

"Whatever...idiot scientist." I said and heard him gasp. When I turned back around I was shocked to see him looking at me with a slight pink tint to his cheeks and smirked to myself in victory. "I'm going to go get dressed, and then we can all go to the guild." I said, leaving him standing there with a dumbstruck look on his face.

"Y-yeah." he said, causing my smirk to widen considerably.

_I got Olver Davis to stutter. Point one to me!_ I thought happily as I went to my room.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ghosthuntrocks: Thanks so much for the review!**

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Chapter 5

I went up to my room and changed back into the clothes I'd been wearing before. _I wonder why he stuttered...oh well...I'll have to thank Gene later for that._ I thought to myself as I clipped my keys onto my belt, hearing them jingle together in happiness.

I walked downstairs and saw that everyone was in the kitchen, eating quietly. "So...wanna meet my family?" I asked with a raised eyebrow and Yasu jumped up excitedly.

"Let's go!" he said and I chuckled. The others stood up and we made our way out the door, me locking up behind us as we walked the cobblestone streets once more.

John and Masako seemed to be immersed in a conversation together, as well as Bou-san, Ayako and Yasu. _It's just like on Earth._ I thought to myself happily as I listened to their chatter contently. The only ones who remained silent were Naru and Lin, but that was a little bit expected. I still had no clue as to where Gray and Natsu were at the current moment. I'm only certain about the fact that they'd left my home.

We walked up to the guild and I smiled at the large building happily. "Welcome to the Fairy Tale guild!" I said, turning to them with my hands raised in the air, like I was displaying something on a game show.

Naru looked at the building blankly, but I could see the amazement dancing in his eyes. His eyes did always tell me what he was thinking. Bou-san had his mouth open in shock and Ayako hit him over the head with her purse, saying he was going to catch flies like that.

I giggled lightly before turning to the guild doors pondering. "Gotta make my entrance big..." I said to myself thoughtfully as I looked at the large, welcoming building that would always be my home.

"Go big or go home." I heard Yasu cheer behind me.

I rolled my eyes and backed away from the door slowly. "Here goes nothing." I said and ran at the door, doing a flip and making it so both of my feet kicked the door in, me landing in a crouch as the other guild members stopped what they were doing to look up.

"Hey guys. I'm home." I said as they looked to me shocked, and it took a whole two seconds before loud cheers were heard.

"Wait wait wait!" I heard and all the cheers died down as I saw my blonde friend walk forward. "How do we know it's really you? You've been gone quite a long time." He said, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

"Laxus...how would you like me to prove it?" I asked, smiling up at him brightly as my friends shuffled into the guild and watched confused.

"Guild Mark." He said and I rolled my eyes.

"You just want me to strip Laxus, admit it." I said as I unzipped my jacket. I heard sputtering behind me and turned to see Naru looking at us shocked. I smirked and pulled my jacket off, lifting the tube top about an inch to show my blue guild mark that was just under my breast. "Happy now?" I asked.

He shook his head, which caused me quite a bit of intense confusion. I squealed as I was picked up in a huge, my feet leaving the floor due to how tall he was. "Now I am." he said as he practically squeezed me to death.

"Let me down you twit!" I screamed, trying to escape his hold and failing. Suddenly he let go, letting me crash to the floor. "Jerk." I muttered as I looked up and saw a hand in front of my face. I looked at it confused for a second before seeing it was Naru and took it, letting him help me up.

_Since when does Naru help me up?_ I thought to myself confused. I stood up and brushed myself off as Master came out of his office.

"What are you all waiting for? Let's party!" He shouted and the entire guild erupted in cheers. I smiled brightly. _That's Fairy Tale for you...they look for any excuse to get drunk._

I smiled at my co-workers and saw that Monk and Ayako were now talking with Gajeel and Levy, whilst looking slightly less terrified of the place than they had before. I had met Gajeel on my last visit, and he hadn't seemed like a bad guy.

Lin and Naru were sitting at the bar with John and Masako standing near them. I smiled brightly and skipped over to the bar. "Heyyyy Mira~" I sang out, sitting next to Naru and jumping slightly when a barrel was banged onto the counter by none other than Cana.

"Hey shorty, think you can beat me this time?" She asked, and Mira placed two shot glasses in front of us with a bottle of whiskey.

"Only one way to find out." I said, missing the look that Naru gave me- it was the one that he gives when he's about to tell me how stupid I am.

Mira poured the shots, as well as lining up another six for each of us. I downed all of them within the next thirty seconds, as well as another ten in the next minute. The room was looking slightly blurred but the two of us kept drinking, seeing who could drink the most.

"Mai...don't you think that you should stop?" I heard Naru say and looked over to him with a shot glass to my lips.

"Why would I do that? Last time we got to 100 before I passed out." I said, smiling brightly and slurring my words slightly.

"Yes well, how bout you don't." He said, tugging me away from the bar. I looked back to see Cana hadn't noticed, she'd continued to drink without me!

"But Dr. Shibuya!" I whined, causing Gene to chuckle in the back of my mind. He'd dared me to call him that and see how long it takes before he snaps.

"No Mai." He said, tugging me to the guild doors. I looked up and saw Lin waiting for us. I turned around and saw that everyone, even John and Masako, were partying with my crazy guild.

I sighed and looked back to Naru. "But the party." I said, pointing behind me.

"You've had plenty of partying for one night, for now, home." He said and I nodded pouting.

He dragged me all the way to my apartment and into my room, pointed to the bed and promptly left the room. "Stupid egotistical jerk." I muttered as I climbed into my bed and fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I woke up with a splitting headache. Maybe I shouldn't party Fairy Tale style anymore...nah. I thought to myself, picking up a bottle of Advil and taking two. I stood and went to the closet, pulling out a pair of blue shorts and a white tank top before changing into them and walking downstairs, yawning as I went.

I walked into the kitchen and sweatdropped. Ayako and Natsu were burning pancakes, and Gray was sitting there naked. Everyone else was sitting at the counter, watching confused.

"Gray...why are you naked...in my house?" I asked, rubbing the bridge of my nose. Why does this always happen in my house? I thought to myself as I walked past the naked Gray to Ayako and Natsu, hitting him on the head and taking the pan, dumping its contents into the trash.

"Well...yeah I don't know." He said shrugging. I turned to look at him, refraining from looking below his face.

"Listen, I know you do this a lot, and I have seen way more of you than I ever wanted, but I'd appreciate it if you not scar my friends." I said, smiling dangerously at him as I started making a new batch of pancakes.

He nodded and went off in search of his clothing. I looked to my friends and saw that Masako and John had turned the color of Ayako's hair. Naru was looking indifferent other than the glare his eyes sent Grays way. Lin was looking bored.

"So, what do you guys wanna do today?" I asked as Gray came back in clothes.

They all shrugged while Natsu fist pumped. "Let's go on a mission! We haven't gone on one in years!" He shouted excitedly, Happy jumping around with him, yelling, "Aye!"

I sweatdropped. "Guys, I just got back from a decade quest. I think I'll take it easy for a couple more days, get everyone acquainted with the town." I said, trying not to burn the pancakes and calm them down at the same time.

"Awe but Maiiiii." Natsu whined, and Gray hit him over the head.

"Let her rest ash face." He said, and I knew how this was going to go.

"What'd you call me, ice pop?" He asked, his hands lighting on fire as he got in Gray's face.

"You heard me squinty eyes!" he yelled back, and I saw my friends backing away.

I sighed and pulled a key from my belt. "Open, gate of the lion! Leo!" I yelled, slashing it through the air and watching as my long time friend Loke came through. "Hey Loke." I said, smiling brightly.

Suddenly I was pulled into a bone crushing hug by none other than the lion himself. "Mai! I've missed you so much!" He said and I patted his back awkwardly.

"Sorry Loke...you know I can't call on spirits in the other worlds." i said and he nodded, pulling away. "Do you think you could separate those two before they destroy my home?" I asked him, smiling sweetly.

He nodded and went to separate them while I turned back to my friends, who all had the same shocked look on their face. "Who's that?" Ayako asked, eyeing Loke.

"That's my spirit Leo, known as Loke by his friends. That's how celestial magic works; I have these keys and they all call on a spirit like Leo. Sometimes they look human and other times they don't." I said, finishing the pancakes and giving them each some.

"How many spirits do you have?" Naru asked me and I looked up to him as I ate a pancake. I pulled my key holder off my belt and held it in front of them.

"Twelve. I had four, but then I met this celestial mage. She was dying and asked me to take care of her spirits..." I said sadly, remembering the day I had met and lost my friend Lucy.

"All done babe." Loke said, flinging an arm over my shoulder and causing me to roll my eyes.

"Thanks Loke." I said smiling at him. He gave a mocking salute before disappearing back to the celestial world.

"So...your his babe?" Ayako asked waggling her eyebrows at me and I turned a bright red.

"No no no! He just calls me that! I mean I've told him not to but he really is a stubborn lion!" I said, waving my hands back and forth while she watched me amused.

"What exactly could we do here?" Monk asked me.

I thought for a minute, putting a finger to my lips. "Well...if you wanted to stay here you could probably all learn magic, since you're spiritualists in the other world..." I said, more or less thinking out loud. "But that all depends on if you chose to stay or not; I'd completely understand if you didn't. I mean this is my home, and your world has been your home your whole life." I said, and that lead me to one last thought. "Although, if you did leave I'd never be able to see any of you again..." I mused, and heard a choking sound.

Looking over I saw that Naru was choking on his food, and everyone else was looking at me gobsmacked.

"What do you mean?! Surely you could visit?! You made that door before!" Monk scream/ questioned.

"Yes but those powers are limited. It takes me two months to save up that energy, and then it takes quite a bit of power to keep it open longer than ten minutes. Usually when I visited I would make the doorway here and then another mage would make one for me to go back. It'd be extremely draining on my part to go back to your world, and my celestial magic can't be used in your world. I'd be damning my spirits to a very boring life, and that isn't fair." I said, sighing as I ran a hand over my keys lovingly.

"But how is that fair to us? We'd be losing a family member!" Yasu yelled, moving around the counter to wail and hug me tightly.

"If I could change that I would...but still...you've got two months to decide." I said.

"Two months to chose what? Whether we want to stay here and lose our old lives or lose you?" Ayako said, looking at me with tears in her eyes.

I nodded, shuffling my feet awkwardly as Yasu wailed in my ear. "Yeah...anyways...I'm gonna go to the guild...Natsu was right, I should find a small job to go on so I have some money." I said, detaching myself from Yasu and walking out of the room.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey guys! So sorry for the long time in between updates! School just started and I know that isn't a very good excuse I've just been beat these days. All of your reviews mean a hella lot to me and I promise I'll start the next chapter tonight, I don't know if I'll finish it though.~ ShannonEsmerelda

Chapter 7

I walked to the guild and over to the job board, waving at Mira as I walked in. The guild was basically empty at the moment; everyone was in their beds groaning about hangovers. I looked over the board biting my lip lightly. It was a Sunday, so new jobs were in today, and it was early so I had basically first pick of whatever I wanted.

There was a job that needed a waitress for the day at a cosplay cafe...I think Erza has taken a job from them before. She told me she had fun with it, but that was probably because she liked the costumes. That was a no.

Then there was a job to go defeat some Vulcans that were in the mountains. It said it was supposed to take around three days, and the pay was good. One day travel, one day defeat, one day travel back. I could probably handle it, but I should most likely bring someone with me just in-case.

_I could bring Gray since it's on an icy mountain...plus he's less likely to blow the place up than Natsu is. And he'll split the reward 50/50._ I thought to myself as I pulled the flier down from the board.

I went and sat at the counter and talked animatedly to Mira as I ate and waited for Gray to come in. He'd probably be late considering last night and not everyone had discovered the benefits of pain killers like I had. Mira and I talked about what life in the other world was like; how they had cars that didn't run on magic, how their guilds were called "unions" and had absolutely nothing to do with magic, how their wizards were all illusionists and not actually magically powered.

She told me about how the guild changed; the people she wanted to date was the majority of what she told me. _She always was wanting to play match-maker...even when we were kids._ I thought to myself as I saw Gray walk in.

"See ya later Mira!" I said, waving as I skipped over to Gray. He was in his usual attire, which consisted of mainly a pair of pants and nothing else.

"Hey Mai." He grumbled, holding his head in pain as someone slammed the guild halls doors. Dozens of groans identical to his could be heard throughout the hall as I smiled slightly.

"Morning Gray. I was wondering if you wanted to go on a mission with me?" I asked him smiling lightly and handing him the flier, as well as taking my small bottle of Advil out of my pocket and giving him three.

He sent me a grateful smile as he read the flier over, scanning it quickly. "Sure...should take about three days, right?" He asked, saying the same thing I'd been thinking earlier.

I nodded. "Yeah. I figure we could run to our houses and grab some supplies and I could have Virgo carry them for us. We could catch the noon train as close to it as we can and then hike up the rest of the way." I said smiling.

"Alright cool. I'll meet you at the station round 11:30?" He asked and I nodded, giving him a two finger wave as I backed away before turning on my heel and heading back towards my home. I would have to pack a couple of changes of clothes, some food and some money. I would also have to tell everyone that I was leaving...to fight a bunch of monsters...on an icy mountain... with a stripper ice mage... that was sure to go over fabulously.

I sighed as I walked into my home, smelling the smell of burnt pancakes that hung in the air still. "Man that reeks.'' I muttered to myself as I walked into the kitchen. Naru and Monk were both sat at the counter; Monk was trying to get his laptop to work, even though there was obviously no WiFi in Magnolia for him to connect to, and Naru was trying to ignore him by reading one of the books on celestial magic he must've found in my library.

''Mai, tea.'' Naru said off-handily, like it was a reflex to me walking into the room.

''No! It's my house you tea addicted jerk!'' I yelled annoyed at him. He just pretended he hadn't heard me and went back to reading the book, his eyes never having actually left the pages.

Lin looked up at me with a raised eyebrow, silently asking what I wanted to say. Lin was really good at reading people; it was a little creepy actually.

"I'm going on a mission. I'll be gone three days with Gray." I said and it was then that Naru actually looked up.

"The stripper?" He asked and I rolled my eyes at the glare he was sending me. He was always so rude.

"Yes the stripper, who has a name, which is Gray. Anyways, I'll be leaving in about ten minutes, and I'll be back in three days. There's food in the house and you can go hang out at the guild if you don't get lost." I said, pulling my rucksack from the cabinet under the sink and tossing a few waters and granola bars in it.

"What are you going to be doing?" Yasu asked curiously, walking into the room with the others.

"Nothing too hard, just taking down some Vulcans. It should only take about a day, but the travel itself will take two days. Hmm...it's gonna be cold...I'll pack some soup to bring and then I can call out Draco to heat it up with some fire." I said in thought, remembering my little dragon spirit.

"Vulcans?" Naru asked, looking to me confused. Inside I did a happy dance! He was hardly ever confused!

"Giant apes that tend to be perverts and terrorize towns. Every now and then, about once every couple months, they come back to this place and the job ends up back on our job board." I said, looking through the cabinets for the cans of soup I knew Mira had put in here. After successfully finding and packing everything I needed I turned back to the gang.

"Right...like I said, three days." I said, biting my lip. "Don't burn the place down, and don't freak out if in the morning Natsu or Erza just show up. They do that."

"Gotcha boss!" Yasu said, giving me a thumbs up.

I smiled a small smile to them and gave a two fingered wave, walking backwards out of the room with my pack on my back. I missed the worried frown that Naru sent my way as I walked out the front door.

I headed towards the train station, my keys jingling in their thigh holster. I ended up buying both mine and Gray's tickets with the little money I had and sitting on the bench as I waited for him. About three minutes later he walked over, shirtless, and sat down next to me.

"Hey stripper." I said smiling at my long time friend.

"Hey there loudmouth." He shot back at me and I rolled my eyes, handing him the ticket I'd bought him.

"Thanks." He said and we boarded the train. We got to a compartment and sat down. Well Gray sat down and I sprawled across from him on the other seat.

And then we were off on our three day quest, a comfortable silence filling the train compartment as we watched the scenery pass us by.


End file.
